Images: All Time Low, The Summer Set, The Downtown Fiction, Hit the Lights November 3, 2012 at the House of Blues

Hit the Lights is the band I was most familiar with on this tour. Being a favorite of a good friend of mine they’ve been the soundtrack to many comic book and burger runs. They probably skew oldest out of the bunch due to their longevity in the pop punk scene (ten years next year) and though the crowd was young, they had no problem winning them over with infectious hooks and a high energy stage show. They seemed like they would be more at home on a lower stage where vocalist Nick Thompson could get right in the crowd for some sing alongs but that didn’t dissuade him from holding the mic out as far as he could for the fans.

Up next was The Downtown Fiction, a band I was largely unfamiliar with before tonight. Like most of the night’s bands they fall on the pop/rock spectrum. Their sound isn’t really my thing but they did a good job up there and got the crowd more excited for what was coming next.

The Summer Set was in the direct support slot and was the most impressive of the night. I was only tangentially familiar with their music, having checked them out online shortly before the show. I liked what I heard, but it really doesn’t hold a candle to their live show. Musically they reminded me a lot of fun. and the now-defunct The Format. Their music has that same 70s inspired pop/rock influence blended with the kind of sugary pop punk All Time Low has become known for. Charismatic vocalist Brian Dales definitely feeds off of his popularity amongst teen girls, working the crowd by kneeling down to sing into the eyes of every fan pressed tight against the barrier. I’m not accustomed to shows with so many female arms stretched longingly towards the stage, and I was definitely ducking under a sea of limbs while getting my photos.

But of course it was All Time Low’s show, as evidenced by how squeally and excitable the crowd became as the stage crew began rolling out the band’s gear and setting up the large ATL banner. After a surprisingly loud crowd sing along to Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Ever Getting Back Together,” the lights finally dimmed and All Time Low took the stage. Like Hit The Lights, I’m really only familiar with All Time Low through friends’ cars and I’d only seen them once quite some time ago when they were just starting out, so I was very interested in seeing how they had progressed.

They filled the large stage with a really nice LCD light show that would make even non fans of the band take interest (and considering the number of parents that stood scattered around the bar I’m sure it made the night more enjoyable to look at). Besides the cool set up, All Time Low is amazingly energetic, with more jumps per minute (JPM) than I’d seen since, well, since the day before when I covered another set of Hopeless Records bands (see those photos here). They kicked off their set with “The Reckless and the Brave,” the opener to their latest release Don’t Panic. It had been a little under a month since that album was released but it already seems to be a favorite, with the fans having memorized the lyrics to tracks like “For Baltimore” and “Somewhere in Neverland.” I would’ve liked to have heard “Outlines,” the Patrick Stump co-written Don’t Panic track that features guest vocals from Jason Vena of the vastly under-appreciated Acceptance but without Vena there I can see why they wouldn’t play it. Maybe they can beg Acceptance to re-form for their next tour?

The new album got a lot of love but the band still put a lot of focus on their 2007 breakthrough So Wrong, It’s Right. I was surprised that they didn’t play that album’s “Vegas,” but the crowd went nuts for “Shameless,” “Remembering Sunday,” “Poppin’ Champagne” and show closer “Dear Maria, Count Me In.” Every band member was all over the stage, but the MVP goes to the lead guitarist Jack Barakat, one of the highest jumpers I’ve seen in a while. As soon as he took the stage he was assaulted with a hail storm of decorated bras that he proudly displayed on his mic stand (and his body). The bras on the stage thing has always come off as cheesy and a bit too reminiscent of the power-ballad 80s but All Time Low is a band that isn’t afraid to relish in the cheese, and they seemed genuinely appreciative of all the adulation.

-Emily Matview | https://www.flickr.com/photos/holdfastnow/